Tennis is a popular racket sport played by millions of people worldwide. It requires strategy, quick reflexes, coordination, and endurance. This article features 55 riddles about various aspects of tennis to challenge your knowledge of this beloved game.
The riddles cover topics like tennis equipment, rules, famous players, tournaments, techniques, and more. Each riddle helps test and expand your understanding of tennis trivia. See if you know enough about tennis to solve all 55 brainteasers!
Riddles About Tennis Equipment
1. I’m hollow with strings inside. I’m often made of composite materials these days. Top players strike me with a lot of spin. What am I?
Answer: A tennis racket
2. We are green fuzzy spheres that players hit back and forth. We can be different pressures and have various coatings. What are we?
Answer: Tennis balls
3. I’m worn on the feet to allow quick movement and slides on the court. I’m usually made of mesh fabric and provide ventilation and support. What am I?
Answer: Tennis shoes
4. I’m a net with poles attached at either end. I separate the two sides of the court. Players have to hit the ball over me to score. What am I?
Answer: The tennis net
5. I’m worn on the head to keep sun and sweat out of a player’s eyes. I have a visor and sometimes absorbent fabric. What am I?
Answer: A tennis hat or visor
Riddles About Tennis Rules
6. We’re the horizontal lines that divide the court. Singles has two of us while doubles has one. We determine if a serve is in or out. What are we?
Answer: The service lines
7. I’m the opening shot that starts every point. You have to hit me into the diagonal service box. What am I?
Answer: The serve
8. I’m an attempt to return an unplayable shot. According to the rules, your racket can’t touch me. What am I?
Answer: The tennis ball
9. We’re the minimum number of points needed to win a game in tennis. We also represent the number of times Serena Williams has won Wimbledon. What number are we?
Answer: 6
10. You must hit me diagonally into the opponent’s service box to start a point. I have one bounce before the return. What am I?
Answer: The serve
Riddles About Famous Tennis Players
11. I’m the Swiss master with 20 Grand Slam singles titles to my name. I’ve held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Who am I?
Answer: Roger Federer
12. I’m the fiery Spaniard with 22 Majors on my resumé. I’ve won a record 13 French Open singles crowns playing with a dominant topspin forehand. Who am I?
Answer: Rafael Nadal
13. I’m the Serbian known for my flexibility and court-covering defense. I’ve captured 21 Grand Slam singles titles including nine Australian Opens. Who am I?
Answer: Novak Djokovic
14. I’m the Australian known for my powerful serve-and-volley game. I won 11 Grand Slam singles titles and gave a memorable farewell speech in 1990. Who am I?
Answer: Rod Laver
15. I’m the Czech-American champion who won 18 Major singles titles including three Wimbledon championships from 1966-1975. I’m in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Who am I?
Answer: Martina Navratilova
Riddles About Tennis Tournaments
16. We’re one of tennis’ four biggest annual tournaments, traditionally played on red clay courts at a Paris arena. Spain’s Rafael Nadal has won us a record 13 times. What tournament are we?
Answer: The French Open
17. I’m a prestigious grass court tournament that takes place at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London after the French Open. Who am I?
Answer: Wimbledon
18. I’m a hard court tennis tournament nicknamed “the Happy Slam” that kicks off every new tennis season in Melbourne, Australia. Who am I?
Answer: The Australian Open
19. I’m the closing event of the Grand Slam calendar, played in New York City on hard courts colored DecoTurf blue. Who am I?
Answer: The US Open
20. We’re a prestigious Ohio tournament that is part of the US Open Series preceding the US Open. We feature both men’s and women’s singles & doubles tournaments every August. What are we called?
Answer: The Western & Southern Open
Riddles About Tennis Techniques
21. I’m an aggressive move where players charge up to a softly-hit ball trying to put it away. I can end points quickly with winning overhead smashes. What am I?
Answer: The approach shot
22. I’m a two-handed tennis grip that provides extra power and stability on the backhand wing. Who dominates with me on the men’s tour nowadays?
Answer: Novak Djokovic’s two-handed backhand
23. We’re the rotating movements that players use to generate power & spin on the ball during groundstrokes. Who uses us better than anyone on tour?
Answer: Rafael Nadal’s forehand topspin
24. I’m an offensive shot aimed at the feet of the opponent, used to pick up low balls or neutralize an attack. What am I?
Answer: A passing shot
25. I’m a gentle underhand serve that catches opponents by surprise. Tennis legend Michael Chang famously used me to topple Ivan Lendl at the 1990 French Open. What am I?
Answer: An underhand serve
Riddles About Tennis Strategy
26. I’m a strategic formation where the net player poaches to disrupt passes down the line. My name describes what the net player tries to establish. What am I?
Answer: The I formation
27. I’m a tactic where players come to net behind shorter balls to take time away from opponents. My name refers to quick extermination of points. What am I?
Answer: S & V – Serve and Volley
28. I’m a tactical shot aimed behind players as they approach net on weaker footing. Lefties like me for running around the backhand. What am I?
Answer: An inside-out forehand
29. I’m a defensive lob that players use to fight off attacking shots. I can frustrate net rushers by making them retreat. What am I?
Answer: A defensive lob
30. I’m a tactic where players stand far back to retrieve balls and outlast opponents from the baseline. My name references a prehistoric defensive creature. What am I?
Answer: Tennis’ dinosaur strategy – the counter-puncher
Riddles About Tennis Scoring & Stats
31. We’re the primary statistic tracked to display a player’s serving effectiveness and domination. Our ratio compares aces vs. double faults. What are we?
Answer: A player’s serve stats & ace-to-double fault ratio
32. I’m awarded when players win four straight points on their opponent’s serve. I can turn momentum and sometimes match outcomes. What am I?
Answer: A service break
33. I’m signaled by a line judge to indicate a serve lands outside the service box, resulting in a fault. Players loudly dread hearing me called. What am I?
Answer: “Out”
34. I’m called to signal when players touch the ball with anything besides the racket during points. This results in the point ending immediately. What am I?
Answer: “Touch”
35. We’re the three areas marked on all tennis courts. Our names also represent the scoring progression in tennis – from zero to game point to game. What are we?
Answer: Love, 15, 30, 40
Riddles About Tennis Court Features & Layout
36. I’m the midline that splits the court lengthwise into two even sides. I have both a singles and doubles version. What am I?
Answer: The center service line
37. I’m the area between the net posts players are allowed to hit volleys. My boundaries expand wider in doubles to accommodate two players. What am I?
Answer: The alley
38. I’m the zone behind the baseline that gives players space to chase down balls. My painted labels switch between even and odd numbers on either side. What am I?
Answer: The backcourt
39. I’m the box at mid-court where servers must aim on the diagonal to start points. Landing in me counts as a good serve. What am I?
Answer: The service box
40. We’re the 78-foot-long lines that form the perimeter of the court. We establish both in and out bounds. What are we?
Answer: The tennis court’s boundary lines
Riddles About Tennis History & Culture
41. I hosted an iconic “Battle of the Sexes” match in 1973 featuring Billie Jean King’s winner against Bobby Riggs What sporting arena am I?
Answer: The Houston Astrodome
42. I’m a revolutionary metal tennis racket invented in 1967 that made the sport’s traditional wood rackets obsolete. Top pros like Jimmy Connors popularized me in the 70s. What am I?
Answer: The Wilson T2000 steel racket
43. We’re the Venus Rosewater Dish and men’s Challenge Cup trophies awarded to the Wimbledon singles champions since 1887. What fruit is our name inspired by?
Answer: The pineapple
44. I’m a scoring methodology created in the late 1800s that does away with the win-by-two requirement. I speed up tennis scoring by increments of 15 points. What am I called?
Answer: The 15-30-40 scoring system
45. I’m a fun social tradition where tennis players greet each other at net before matches. My name references looking into someone’s eyes. What am I?
Answer: The pre-match looking
Riddles About Tennis Lingo & Terminology
46. I’m signaled when the receiver can’t reach the serve, resulting in a direct point. My hand signal is the same as a football referee’s touchdown. What am I?
Answer: An ace
47. I’m called if the ball nicks the top of the net before bouncing within bounds on the other side What’s my name that references dairy butter?
Answer: Let
48. We’re the 50-50 chance points replayed after lets and hindrances What two-word phrase are we commonly called?
Answer: Second serves
49. I’m the replay decision when a critical line call can’t be made definitively. I give the point back to the server to resolve fairness doubts. What am I?
Answer: “Benefit of the doubt”
50. I’m called when players win three straight points after deuce to get within one point of victory What am I?
Answer: Advantage or “Ad”-in
Riddles About Tennis Injuries & Medical Timeouts
51. I’m one of tennis’ most feared knee ligament tears that can require surgery and months of rehab. I plagued legends like Monica Seles and Kim Clijsters. What am I?
Answer: An ACL tear
52. I’m the shoulder injury faced by hard serving tennis players from repetition leading to torn rotator cuffs. What’s my rhyming two-word name?
Answer: Tennis shoulder
53. I’m the lower back sprain affecting many tennis players from twisting to hit forehands and backhands. My nickname references a breakfast meal. What am I?
Answer: Tennis player’s pancake
54. I’m the cramping of leg muscles late in matches as players run countless sprints What’s my nickname coined after a famous marathon runner?
Answer: The Isner cramp (after marathon runner John Isner)
55. I’m the three to five minute pause that Grand Slam rules permit players to receive medical evaluation or treatment during matches without coaching. What am I?
Answer: A medical timeout
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed exercising your mind with these 55 riddles about the great game of tennis. Let me know if you were able to solve them all! From rackets and rules to legends and tournaments, these brainteasers covered all aspects of tennis trivia. Learning tennis riddles is a fun way to sharpen your mastery of the game while discovering fascinating new insights about techniques, strategies, equipment, culture and more behind this popular racket sport. Feel free to use these as tennis riddles for kids and adults alike to stumper your family and friends.
